tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24622020266928012152024-03-13T16:23:51.838-04:00the white words | my thoughts for the dayAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.comBlogger576125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-46529857195973843222013-01-21T20:28:00.000-05:002013-01-21T20:28:17.629-05:00An open letter to the angry people out there. <div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>I have decided to stick with love. <br />Hate is too great a burden to bear.</strong></em> <br /> - Martin Luther King, Jr.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As I write this, it is the day our country celebrates the amazing Martin Luther King, Jr. I posted the above MLK quote on my personal Facebook page this afternoon, which immediately reminded me of the sheer weight that the angry people around me must feel every single day. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the past seven or eight months, I have had <em>much</em> anger in my life. Thankfully, it hasn't been my own. But, it still scares the crap out of me and, more so, it makes me terribly sad. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are so many people that are <em>truly</em> angry about many things. As I have found, angry people tend to be angry about <em>everything </em>and virtually <em>everyone.</em> Instead of owning their feelings, many people blame others for "making" them angry. It is always someone else's fault. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>That is maddening.</em> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am here today to say <strong>OWN IT ALREADY</strong> for goodness' sake! We have <strong>ALL</strong> had our share of hurts, fears, disappointments, difficult and trying times that cause anger, but no one is forced or entitled to hang on to that anger indefinitely. What angers you may not anger me, and what angers me may not anger you or to the same degree. But, we have all been there. No, life is not fair. People suck. Circumstances are never quite as we would have hoped. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"></span></span><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>All</em> emotions are a normal part of understanding who we are and how we fit into our world. Emotions are a communication tool between ourselves and our surroundings. But, it is <em>what we do with</em> our emotions that will make us step forward, backward or keep at a stand still.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No one makes us do anything unless we decide to do it. No one can make you or me sad, happy, angry, or hateful. Someone can do something "to you" to cause an emotion, but you and I get to CHOOSE OUR RESPONSE to that emotion. </span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretty cool and liberating if you ask me. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4877235202801_72749449}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4877235202801_72749449}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[7].[1][2][1]{comment4877235202801_72749449}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Fear leads to Anger. <br />Anger leads to Hate. <br />Hate leads to Suffering. <br />Suffering leads to the dark side</em>. <br />- Yoda</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is time to break the cycle or continue to live a miserable, angry life. Which leads to the dark side, according to Yoda, of Star Wars fame (thanks to my friend, Mike, for sharing with me!). <br /><br />Trust me when I say that the view of the dark side from here is not a pretty one. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Arial;">___________________________________________________</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"></span></span> </div>
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Colossians 3:8, 12-13 </strong><em>But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.</em></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="userContent"></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-77883339854438524082012-12-12T17:03:00.000-05:002012-12-13T16:30:44.060-05:00thrive. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a confession. I am <em>terrified</em> to go to a developing country. There are a couple of reasons for my fear, and they both are all about me. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My only current valid reason for traveling to a developing country would be as part of a short-term mission trip, likely through my church. These opportunities come up every few months at our church, and I have avoided partaking because I am afraid that I would make a mission trip about <em>me</em>. I am not totally sure that my motivation for a trip would be <em>to impact the lives of others, </em>versus making me feel better about myself by the sacrifices I would have made by making such a trip. You know, it's the "hey, look at me, doing good, on the other side of the world" kind of thing I am afraid of. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The other reason for my fear is that I am terrified of feeling like a life that is so different than mine, void of all of <em>my</em> necessities and conveniences, needs to be improved or changed. Sadly, I am a fixer by nature - I want to fix things, situations and people. And even more sad, is that when I can't change things out of my control, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders and then I obsess because I don't want to fail.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, that's messed up <em>me</em>. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, there is my cousin, Louie, and his wife, Gina. Totally not stifled by their own issues and fears, like me. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Louie and Gina recently moved their family to Dhaka, Bangladesh, because he is a diplomat in the U.S. Embassy and has a 14-month position within the Department of Justice to the State Department. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--suZ_oQYBLY/UMjr4Z4hSGI/AAAAAAAAEIA/OrKagwVUd9s/s1600/Gabel+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img bea="true" border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--suZ_oQYBLY/UMjr4Z4hSGI/AAAAAAAAEIA/OrKagwVUd9s/s320/Gabel+Tree.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to babysit him! And now, he is an Ambassador! <br />Louie and his family taking home their Christmas tree in Bangladesh. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They have only been there a few months, since September of this year, and immediately, they noticed that the families of the Dhaka slums were going through their days hungry. Gina and her friends acted. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gina started <a href="http://www.thrivedhaka.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Thrive</a>, which is an organization that is already helping to feed the children of Dhaka. Their current project is rooted in the Korail Slum, Dhaka's largest. While they are researching sustainable methods to meet this need, they are also working on a smaller scale of getting one healthy meal a day into </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">250 school kids. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every week, Gina and her team search for the best prices for the food they provide and hand deliver the food to the school. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFz8e7Uj0CY/UMj2xI0WnsI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/4zR84PjKU38/s1600/Eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img bea="true" border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFz8e7Uj0CY/UMj2xI0WnsI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/4zR84PjKU38/s320/Eggs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrive buys farm fresh eggs for 6.9 Tk each (equivalent to about a dime) on a Monday.<br />They wash them, rinse them, and boil them so they are ready to deliver to <br />250 smiling children on Tuesday morning.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Get this</em>. With recent incoming donations to Thrive, these 250 children are already guaranteed at least one healthy meal a week until the end of May 2013. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wj9V0-UU6_8/UMj3e9Lj2LI/AAAAAAAAEIo/6Q6Oz3k-VjY/s1600/Bananas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img bea="true" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wj9V0-UU6_8/UMj3e9Lj2LI/AAAAAAAAEIo/6Q6Oz3k-VjY/s320/Bananas.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The children in the school, located in Dhaka. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All donations to Thrive go straight to feeding the children, which obviously helps them to better learn and grow. Thrive makes ZERO profit. Every single cent/taka goes directly to the purchasing of food. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrive's members cover all overhead, administrative, distribution, preparation, and fuel costs.</span> Pretty cool feature of a grassroots effort. </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know many of you will want to know how you can help. <strong>Thrive needs your donations!</strong> It has set up some pretty cool ways to do so in someone's honor, and it can all be done <a href="http://www.thrivedhaka.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">online</a>! A perfect Christmas gift for someone this year! </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
For every $50 donation, Thrive will feed 250 elementary school children living in the Korail Slums with a meal in your honor or in the honor of someone of your choice. They will take pictures to show you how they spent your money and the joy it brought! <br />
<br />
For every $250 donation, they will feed 250 elementary school children living in Dhaka with 5 meals in your honor or in the honor of a someone of your choice. Again, lots of pictures to share, and you will receive a special thank you gift straight from Dhaka. <br />
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</span><span style="font-size: small;">If those donation levels aren't doable, especially around the holidays, then give what you can, and be sure to like their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thrivefeededucategrow#!/thrivefeededucategrow" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> to keep in touch and hear the awesome stories of how Thrive is blessing the children of Bangladesh! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, I am thankful that Louie and Gina took a leap and are in Dhaka, where they are doing what they can do, one day at a time, to impact the lives of others. I hope you will help their effort in any way that you can... pray, give, and share what Thrive is doing! It <em>will</em> make a huge difference for those 250 children. </span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-82821574567521634112012-12-11T21:13:00.000-05:002012-12-11T21:13:28.893-05:00six months.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is almost how long it has been since I have written on here. We made it through an entire presidential election, amongst many (many, many, <em>many</em>) other events, and I did not say a WORD (on here... hahaha...). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's been a weird six months for me. I "retired"... had a brief stint being "unretired"... had a vacation or two... layed by the pool for hours on end... read countless books... got three kids back in school... turned the big 4-0... carpooled 4,327 times to 587 locations... made it through soccer season and the school musical... celebrated a few holidays... hmmpff.... and, now, it is almost the new year. And, I *think* I am ready to write again. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although, I have moved into this more guarded state. "Half-time" in life is just weird. In so many different ways. So much to process. Too much to evaluate. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is the place where you wonder if you have taken enough risks. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is the place where you wonder if you are doing the right thing... every day in every thing you do. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is the place where you hope you are leading your children in the right direction. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is the place where you look back and realize what a dumbass you have been. On so many occasions... to so many people... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Everything is a question for me right now. Or, rather, an evaluation.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Weird stuff happens in this life stage. Crazy shit. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But... life is very good. It's all very good.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, I shall move onward with this little space of mine! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">About six months ago, my plan was to post daily. HA! Well, I have the <em>time</em> to write every day, but can I clear the cranial clutter...??? THAT is the question!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Stay tuned... your guess is as good as mine! </span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-46573374669810508102012-06-21T16:47:00.000-04:002012-06-21T16:47:06.574-04:00Everything... affects everything.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I just finished the book, "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher. Amazing book. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Parents and teens should be reading this book. Teens especially should pick it up, because I bet many of the stories contained within it sound very much like what is or could be happening in their lives. </span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Here is my favorite selection: </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>You don't know what went on in the rest of my life. At home. Even at school. You don't know what goes on in anyone's life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person's life, you're not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can't be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person's life, you're messing with their entire life. Everything... affects everything.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is so important for all of us to discuss with our children, regardless of their ages, the importance of how we treat others. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We shouldn't be shrugging off the mistreatment of others, especially children... teens... just because we don't think it is severe enough to "deal with". I find it interesting that we, parents, validate other's feelings based on our own opinions. Hardly fair, especially when dealing with children. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
----------------------------------</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.hopeline.com/">http://www.hopeline.com/</a><br />1-800-SUICIDE</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-9113061839645471122012-06-12T20:50:00.000-04:002012-06-12T20:50:59.904-04:00Change.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is has been <em>quite</em> the week here at the white words.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a couple <em>years</em> of thought, I took the plunge and shall be entering early retirement in a couple weeks. Holla! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I mentioned a <a href="http://thewhitewords.blogspot.com/2012/06/lost.html" target="_blank">couple posts ago </a>that I have worked at the same place for 12 years. Yep, and next week, that ends. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But you know what? It feels <em>so good</em> to now be aware that I am in control of my own destiny (well, sort of... independent of the big guy). Ahhhh. So good. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I reached a point last week when I realized that "someone" had convinced me along the way that they were in control of my life. Bwah!! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><em>Buh-bye. </em></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And then, I cut off <em>all of my hair</em>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X79-dSdV0gE/T9fgusjKsfI/AAAAAAAAECE/V6-xZly5Has/s1600/hair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" pca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X79-dSdV0gE/T9fgusjKsfI/AAAAAAAAECE/V6-xZly5Has/s320/hair.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I swear it doesn't look all "Carol Brady" like it looks here.<br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are moving on to bigger and better things in this place, and we are so excited (and relieved) for the changes. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't wait until I don't come home with the life sucked out of me from negative people and negative experiences. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Change is good. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>:: :: ::</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Do you have any summer changes coming up that are exciting? </em></span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>:: :: ::</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">PS: My college alma mater is off to the College World Series... that's right... <strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">WE ARE KENT STATE!</span> </strong> Cheer on the Golden Flashes with me, won't you?! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KxjV0Owy08I/T9fja0j0L6I/AAAAAAAAECU/Qo9nYWbOZNo/s1600/KSU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" pca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KxjV0Owy08I/T9fja0j0L6I/AAAAAAAAECU/Qo9nYWbOZNo/s400/KSU.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-13182187614728045442012-06-05T15:05:00.000-04:002012-06-05T15:05:19.589-04:00Promise.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3PA1IYrBWvs/T85WPYDjGEI/AAAAAAAAEB0/n9buVFhzpm0/s1600/Mom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3PA1IYrBWvs/T85WPYDjGEI/AAAAAAAAEB0/n9buVFhzpm0/s1600/Mom.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This fine work of art was given to me for Mother's Day. I'll assume that since it was a Mother's Day gift, my children are okay with it. It is a perfect reminder to me of my job as a parent. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.joelfelix.com/a-parents-promise/" target="_blank">{ You can get yours here. } </a></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-44905875057090063522012-06-03T14:42:00.004-04:002012-06-03T15:26:21.894-04:00I can.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am the absolute opposite of athletic, and I don't have a competitive athletic bone in my body. For example, I was on the track team in high school, and most of the time, I would have other people run for me. I have likely never run outside for more than 800 yards at one time. True. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">About six months ago, I decided that I had *way* too much time on my hands to use the I-don't-have-time excuse to avoid working out. So I joined a gym... one with very little traffic during the time I like to go and one with very little pressure. Most of the time, I am the fittest person in the gym, if you catch my drift. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the gym, I spend about 30-45 minutes on an AMT - adaptive motion trainer - so I run, climb, cross country ski at various intervals, and I then spend about 30 minutes on my upper body with Precor equipment. When I am done with my workout, I feel like I could run home from the gym. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This weekend, the kids and I were at a sporting goods store, so I bought some new kicks. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_X4PtIRreLM/T8uuGiI4AhI/AAAAAAAAEBk/Y6GxHB0qUSA/s1600/Shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_X4PtIRreLM/T8uuGiI4AhI/AAAAAAAAEBk/Y6GxHB0qUSA/s200/Shoes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Bitches, this morning, I ran two miles! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">TWO MILES. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Without stopping. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Outside. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">With hills, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">gravel and everything. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Booyah. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Even had two of my kids with me, and when we hit the two mile marker, we high fived each other!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am sure all of you runners are scoffing at me right now, and go right ahead if it makes you feel better about your own bad self. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Honeybadger don't care. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-68268980838101947082012-06-02T08:30:00.000-04:002012-06-02T08:30:02.571-04:00Liquid crack.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love beer. I love the taste and its thirst-quenching abilities. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I really do not enjoy mixed drinks, bottled liquor or fruity frozen drinks. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J3oadjoQWBE/T8llqwmyZ-I/AAAAAAAAEBU/vtb1C7oc5QI/s1600/Beergarita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J3oadjoQWBE/T8llqwmyZ-I/AAAAAAAAEBU/vtb1C7oc5QI/s200/Beergarita.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thankfully, when offered a "beergarita" at a party recently, I accepted. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">YUMMERS. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Don't let this summer pass on by without making you and yours a pitcher or two of these. So easy, and crackalicious delicious. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><u>Beergarita Recipe Directions: </u></strong></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">One can Minute Maid frozen limeaid</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">One can/bottle Miller Chill, Bud Light Lime or Corona</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">One limeaid canister equivalent of Sprite Zero</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">One limeaid canister equivalent of tequila</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Serve over ice. Makes approximately 5-6 servings. </em></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This recipe could change your summer. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">You are <em>very</em> welcome. </span><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-21950209462268519962012-06-01T13:28:00.000-04:002012-06-01T13:28:46.877-04:00Lost.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JpE1D5SCidM/T8jvsotcXDI/AAAAAAAAEBE/v9KKpIYg-6s/s1600/Lost-Girls-Cover-1-196x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JpE1D5SCidM/T8jvsotcXDI/AAAAAAAAEBE/v9KKpIYg-6s/s200/Lost-Girls-Cover-1-196x300.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am currently reading <a href="http://www.lostgirlsworld.com/" target="_blank">"The Lost Girls"</a>, which is a travel memoir of three women in their late twenties. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amanda, Jen and Holly left behind successful jobs, boyfriends and friends in Manhattan to embark on a year long journey around the world. The book is their story, written from each of the girls' perspectives. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The minute I picked up the book, it started me thinking about my own life... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am not a risk taker, and I have *always* allowed myself to be pigeon-holed into whatever is supposed to come next in life. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Out of high school, <strong><em>of course</em></strong> I went on to college... which meant I eventually had to major in <strong><em>something</em></strong>. I graduated in four years, and I had three different declared majors in those four years. My final decision was made, sitting cross-legged, in the hallway of my dorm, course catalog open, literally pointing my finger at random at a page and <em><strong>voila!</strong></em> Major chosen. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">With the exception of my husband, there is no way on earth that any twenty year old knows what he/she wants to do for the rest of his/her life. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I went on to grad school, and beyond that, all early adult milestones were met right on schedule. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I now am happily married with three wonderful children and two dogs. We are financially stable, living in suburbia with a finely manicured lawn. I have worked at the same company for twelve years. We are living the American dream, which is awesome. Seriously. I love my very comfortable life, and I understand that, especially today, I should have no feeling towards it other than gratitude. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">:::yawn:::</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At times, I wish I would have realized along the way that me, Matt, the kids and the dogs could be a bunch of gringos living in Costa Rica, <em>for example, </em>selling beer and recreational equipment on the beach. People *need* that stuff, you know. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Don't worry... it is just the middle age crisis talking. And, it is hitting me like a bunch of bricks that Audrey is only four years away from having to make some serious life decisions. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">ONLY FOUR YEARS. Let's face it. It is less than four years. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I feel it is so important for Matt and I to be cognizant of not boxing Audrey into any path - intentionally or unintentionally. I want her to responsibily ask "Why not?" with any opportunities that come her way instead of doing what she *thinks* she should do based on what she knows and has seen growing up. I don't want fear - her own or the fear that others show - to hold her back... not in a hey-you-can-be-President-of-the-United-States-one-day kind of way... but in a find-and-follow-your-passion kind of way. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Or else she is going to be a 40 year old lost girl. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span style="font-family: Arial;">How in the eff did I get to be {almost} 40? </span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-91618779008113118562012-05-31T14:51:00.001-04:002012-05-31T14:51:43.760-04:00Bittersweet.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday was the fourth grade Talent Show at our boys' school. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Much to Matt's and my surprise, Isaac and his friend, Max, had a plan to sing the song "Fine By Me" by Andy Grammer. They practiced a few times and had even planned their outfits. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When we got to school for the show, Isaac met us in tears and with butterflies in his belly. He felt absolutely sick and was a mess from his nerves. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">His nervousness and tears were all the talk of his class, so his teacher, Mrs. Mack, started the hunt to find him. She wanted to pump him up, raise his confidence, and see him shine. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By the time she found him, he and I were on our way to let the teacher that coordinated the talent show know that he was bailing. Getting in front of 400+ people to sing {understandably} was not going to happen. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When Mrs. Mack saw him crying, she grabbed him, gave him a big hug, and tears welled up in her eyes. </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f07eI8rr-uE/T8e6gNag28I/AAAAAAAAEA0/y6eQKic5rOE/s1600/Mack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f07eI8rr-uE/T8e6gNag28I/AAAAAAAAEA0/y6eQKic5rOE/s320/Mack.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mrs. Mack & Isaac, 4th Grade Farewell, 2012</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I looked at her, she kept crying telling me that she hates to see {her} kids cry. It was so touching to see my child's teacher care so much about his feelings. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Tomorrow is Isaac's last day of elementary school. He is *so super excited* to head to his new school full of new adventures, new schedules, and new people... but he is also very sad. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This morning, he told me that he is so lucky that Ian will still be in elementary school for three more years, because he has every intention of heading back to that school each and every single day to see Mrs. Mack. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Makes me smile. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-47304386202589216642012-05-31T13:52:00.000-04:002012-05-31T13:52:37.660-04:00Starting over.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hey, look! </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JI7mp9thJV4/T8euCgsjOAI/AAAAAAAAEAg/DvpWuI0_hCQ/s1600/Modern+women+juggling+healthy+lifestyle_weight+loss+foods+for+women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JI7mp9thJV4/T8euCgsjOAI/AAAAAAAAEAg/DvpWuI0_hCQ/s200/Modern+women+juggling+healthy+lifestyle_weight+loss+foods+for+women.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I changed my blog. Again. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">New plan. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Blog daily about *one* thought for the day. Categorize that thought by the hat I am wearing while having that thought. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shazam. I love structure. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-79928018878724154342012-05-16T20:11:00.002-04:002012-05-16T20:12:27.978-04:00{ When } School’s Out for Summer!<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have all heard it or said it – teachers have the best work hours! After all, where else can you find three months “off” every year, right? <br /><br />That made me ask the question to three Stow-Munroe Falls School District teachers – “How will you spend your summer?” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Head on over to the </span><a href="http://www.smfschools.org/base.cfm?page_id=2742&post_id=1083&action=view" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parent Connection blog</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> at Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools to find out!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-9571343622516752352012-05-03T11:49:00.001-04:002012-05-31T13:10:16.848-04:00Moms and their stuff.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am a part-time stay-at-home Mom. I work outside of the house two days a week. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">During the "stay-at-home" days, my kids are all in school, so I spend much of my time doing traditional "Mom" things... laundry, grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, more laundry, and a <strong><em>ton</em></strong> of managing the happenings of those that live in our home. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don't do those "Mom" things for the recognition, God knows. I do them because I am a caretaker by nature, and those are things that <em>just need done</em>. Does anyone appreciate the effort I put in to making everything in our house run smoothly? My husband does, of course, because if I didn't do it, he couldn't do what he loves and do what fuels his energy... which is his work. Do my kids appreciate what I do? The verdict is still out on that one. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here's the thing with being a Mom. Most Moms get squat of verbal or physical affirmation that their children (and probably many husbands) appreciate what they do. You can figure out the reasons for that on your own. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When was the last time your child thanked you for buying the groceries? Or, for coordinating the car pool schedule? </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1YNw-tPhoRw/T6KooQMAehI/AAAAAAAAD4c/79vyZuu6jiQ/s1600/unappreciated1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1YNw-tPhoRw/T6KooQMAehI/AAAAAAAAD4c/79vyZuu6jiQ/s320/unappreciated1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you know me personally, you know that I am on the PTA committee at our elementary school that just put on a pretty kick ass 5K fundraiser this past weekend. After four months of meetings, input, more meetings, coordinating things and people, more meetings, a boatload of mental stress, and a lot of sleepless nights, we pulled off a successful party of over 600. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">To be honest, at crunch time (i.e. the two weeks prior to the race), life sorta sucked. Tasks were big and time was short. Family life suffered. Laundry didn't get gone. Meals were take out. Children and husbands were inadvertently neglected. Tempers were short. Phone calls were long. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But, we did it. We planned a pretty impressive race. Since then, we have recieved so much positive feedback and appreciation from participants for creating a wonderful race atmosphere and an awesomely organized event. It has been incredible. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And, you know what, despite the sacrifices of the past four months, it feels good. <strong><em>It feels great!</em></strong> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is tuly awesome to successfully </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">do something outside of the house, yet, in the role of a Mom, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">to have someone tell you that all of your hard work and effort was worth it... that you are appreciated.</span></em></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">t fuels us, doesn't it? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hmmmm... something to ponder as we approach Mother's Day. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-55134101648705109832012-04-09T10:19:00.002-04:002012-04-09T10:19:49.955-04:00Get Your Paws Moving!This post is for the locals of Northeast Ohio! <br /><br />I am on the committee at our elementary school for the <a href="http://www.fishcreekraccoonrun.com/" target="_blank"><strong>First Annual Fishcreek 5K Raccoon Run</strong></a>. Check out a guest post I did at the <a href="http://www.smfschools.org/base.cfm?page_id=2742&post_id=1080&action=view" target="_blank"><strong>Parent Connection</strong></a> on the school district's website and at <a href="http://stow.patch.com/blog_posts/get-your-paws-moving" target="_blank"><strong>Stow Patch</strong></a>. <br />
<br />
Go on... get prepared to get those paws moving! We will see you at the Raccoon Run on April 29, 2012!<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-4915468525693317422012-02-28T17:55:00.000-05:002012-02-28T17:55:00.269-05:00Special days.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matt has started a tradition in our house that his Dad had with his own children - "special days". </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAJK8PLkw00/T00KpXPRKuI/AAAAAAAADis/JF33LbiMe68/s1600/IMG_2921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAJK8PLkw00/T00KpXPRKuI/AAAAAAAADis/JF33LbiMe68/s320/IMG_2921.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a weekly rotation of the family members, and the lucky individual of the week gets to spend Saturday doing something special with Matt. Special person's choice. BIG hit in our house. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This past Saturday was the "family special day", so against her will, Audrey was able to spend - <em>gasp! - </em>all day with us!<em> </em>The whole fam-damily.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgeU0s_NC_U/T00K0LSqYNI/AAAAAAAADi0/0ySZPvOXHsY/s1600/IMG_2957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgeU0s_NC_U/T00K0LSqYNI/AAAAAAAADi0/0ySZPvOXHsY/s320/IMG_2957.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Together, we watched the boys play tennis, we went bowling, and we dined. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special day, indeed. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What you cannot see from these pictures is that those smiles on the kids' faces? Forced. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Me? Most annoying parent on the planet that should not even speak. And, <em>the nerve</em> of me to want to capture our special family day via a camera. <em>Gawd. A N N O Y I N G</em></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And, those cute boys? Disobedient little punks who cannot follow simple commands. Awww... look how big they have gotten! So sweet... </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And, yep... that is pretty much how we have rolled for the past few weeks... special days and all... </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My "special day" with Matt is supposed to be this weekend... it was be <em>very special</em> as I recuperate from having my umbilical hernia repaired (on Friday). </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Actually, being left alone and not responsible for another living creature for at least a day is <em>just </em>the kind of "special" I need. Sort of giddy at the thought of it. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-14252781583679573692012-02-24T11:15:00.001-05:002012-02-24T11:15:40.740-05:00A new gig.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been asked by our school district, <a href="http://www.smfschools.org/" target="_blank"><strong>the awesome Stow-Munroe Falls School District</strong></a> that I am so proud to be a part of, to write some posts every now and again about things that are happening in and around the district. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many cool things that are happening with our amazing children and teachers, and often times those are overshadowed by negative nellies and "bad press", so I am <em>thrilled</em> to focus on the good, the inspiring, the helpful, and the encouraging news of the district. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.smfschools.org/base.cfm?page_id=2742&post_id=1075&action=view" target="_blank"><strong>Today is my first post</strong></a> which has some bad news and good news. Let's just say there are two things that freak me out. The cost of retirement <em><strong>and college tuition</strong></em>. If you know of a family with a high school senior in our area, send them over to<strong> </strong><a href="http://www.smfschools.org/base.cfm?page_id=2742&post_id=1075&action=view" target="_blank"><strong>the post</strong></a>. They will be glad you did!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-4988610312923789752012-02-16T13:15:00.000-05:002012-02-16T13:16:07.165-05:00Modern day witch hunt?<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other day at our Valentine's Day dinner, Matt asked me what I thought about gay marriage. Pretty deep for a Valentine's discussion. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't bore you with a long drawn out explanation of my opinion(s) on the subject, because they don't really matter. Nope, they don't, regardless of how I or you would choose to label them. (Maybe I will post about my rationale for this at some other time.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But I will say that, p</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ersonally, I don't want to live in a world where any person is treated as a second class citizen based on their race, gender, sexuality, spiritual beliefs, etc. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So did you hear this week or last about the group called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zNKTTtAXCs" target="_blank">One Million Moms</a>, which is an arm of the American Family Association? They are a group of Christian moms, and they do not want Ellen Degeneres as the spokeswoman for JCPenney because she is openly gay... and JCPenney caters to the "traditional family". One Million Moms would like customers to boycott shopping at JCPenney if they do not change their spokesman.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Hmmpff.</em> </span><br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Regardless of my views of gay marriage, I am with <a href="http://www.punditmom.com/2012/02/teaching-tolerance-with-the-help-of-jcpenney-and-ellen-degeneres" target="_blank">PunditMom</a> when she says, </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>When I hear about efforts like those of a group called “One Million Moms” trying to take down a business and a celebrity because they want to “protect” their children from “non-traditional” families, the first thing I think is, “Isn’t life hard enough without hating families that don’t look like yours?” </em></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I would have replaced "hating" with "attacking". Even <a href="http://youtu.be/sgm06iMF4uE" target="_blank">Bill O'Reilly called it a modern-day witch hunt. </a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><em>OK, so what do you think about the One Million Moms initiative against JCPenney? Do you see value in such an effort, or do you think what they've done has hurt, more than helped, their cause? </em></strong></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-29631201319226722162012-02-15T13:54:00.002-05:002012-02-15T13:58:22.170-05:00The gift of self-esteem.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PCWbXNvSr0E/Tzv-5OqpPzI/AAAAAAAADhE/qTugc0_j3jc/s1600/Audrey+Awesome+FINAL.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PCWbXNvSr0E/Tzv-5OqpPzI/AAAAAAAADhE/qTugc0_j3jc/s400/Audrey+Awesome+FINAL.png" width="328" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being humble can wait. For now, I will remind her of her awesomeness every chance I get. After all, the gift of self-esteem is the greatest gift you can give a girl. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-68454793276095836712012-02-14T12:45:00.000-05:002012-02-14T12:45:08.716-05:00No filter.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got a new camera over the weekend, and since I don't really *do* user manuals, I was snapping lots of photos of the kids, playing with the different settings and such. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ian did not have the ability to create a real smile for me, so right before this shot, I suggested the kids envision their teacher in his/her underpants. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>I can't help it. Sometimes stuff like that slips. </em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But, it worked. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I think that is a true smile multiplied by three!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdadz3p9PGo/TzqdFSoRVuI/AAAAAAAADg8/nsQavgxQu_M/s1600/Kids.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdadz3p9PGo/TzqdFSoRVuI/AAAAAAAADg8/nsQavgxQu_M/s400/Kids.png" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-57659250184601310782012-02-07T15:40:00.000-05:002012-02-07T15:40:23.211-05:00Midlife.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I figure I am about in to the 28th month of my mid-life crisis, but I swear I am getting a handle on it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I have decided that having my house "professionally" cleaned once a month isn't too much to ask. Yes, I realize I can do it myself, as we all can. I just cannot do it <em>all at once</em>. And, I am just too damn tired. Middle age makes you tired. Are you tired? Have your house cleaned. Sometimes I think it is the cure all. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My middle age also means no more children. Actually, Matt's tied macaronis mean no more children. However, you do not need functioning macaronis to get a new dog. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILCh0Fx1kIg/TzF-YEtW5fI/AAAAAAAADcw/ffFtxf5sM2Q/s1600/Caesar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILCh0Fx1kIg/TzF-YEtW5fI/AAAAAAAADcw/ffFtxf5sM2Q/s400/Caesar.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Caesar, our new baby. He is 100% love. Especially since he has stopped eating his own crap. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of babies... we <em>were</em> speaking of babies before Caesar ate his poo... the last time I had one was six and a half years ago. Six years ago, I had an umbilical hernia - caused by my babies - repaired. Now it is time to get another one repaired. How many more can there be?! Mesh may be the silver bullet this go-round. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I figure that having my hernia repaired will make me look better in a bathing suit in mid-life. Going to the gym will, too. Which I have started to do. Three days a week. So far, so good. It will continue to go well as long as no one talks to me or gets all up in my business about what I am doing. The personal trainer that runs the joint now knows this about me. It took a couple of times of me not taking out my head phones as he talked to me, but some people are just slow learners. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1h8_eOmwb5Y/TzGHJs-gltI/AAAAAAAADc4/HT_3Gl1nq2I/s1600/5K+Vertical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" sda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1h8_eOmwb5Y/TzGHJs-gltI/AAAAAAAADc4/HT_3Gl1nq2I/s320/5K+Vertical.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Because I am getting all conditioned and such, I could run the <a href="http://www.fishcreekraccoonrun.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Fishcreek 5K Raccoon Run</strong></a>, but I won't. You know... they need volunteers on the day of. If you are local to NE Ohio and are a runner, click on that link, and REGISTER for this race! We are busy hammering out all of the details for the race and sponsorships, so if you are interested in either, keep checking back to the website. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Times up... have to go pick up my prescription for my middle-aged defective sinuses. Until next time... PEACE!</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-54417820277752501122012-01-31T12:52:00.001-05:002012-01-31T12:52:40.997-05:00How to raise a philanthropist<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you popped in here to find out how you can raise giving, appreciative, <span style="background-color: white;">and </span>unspoiled children, who lack a sense of entitlement...um... I don't have the answer for you. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, I think <a href="http://circleofsisterhoodfoundation.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/raising-a-philanthropist/" target="_blank"><strong>Tales from Inside the Circle of Sisterhood</strong></a> has some pretty great ideas on raising children who will naturally want to give of their time, their money and their talents. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And now, I am going to tell you a little story about Isaac, our second born who is almost 10 and in the fourth grade, and the journey he has been on since the end of last year. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Back in October 2011, I had read <a href="http://www.stowsentry.com/news/article/5116401" target="_blank"><strong>an article</strong></a> in our local newspaper about a group of high school students that were raising money to build a school in Mali, Africa through the <strong><a href="http://www.africansky.org/" target="_blank">African Sky</a></strong> organization. In that article, it was mentioned that any other efforts within the school district would be appreciated, as the students wanted the fundraising to be a community effort. Roughly $12,000-14,000 is needed to build the school in Mali. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I had asked Isaac if he wanted to help the high school with their efforts by heading up a fundraiser at his own school, which is Kindergarten through 4th Grade. He read the article and was all in. No question. He could do it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">He talked to his principal, enlisted the help of three of his friends, submitted a business plan, and that was that. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b6HZjmsfuXU/TyglmrG9IbI/AAAAAAAADao/D7NIy9aeGOo/s1600/Wristbands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" sda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b6HZjmsfuXU/TyglmrG9IbI/AAAAAAAADao/D7NIy9aeGOo/s320/Wristbands.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Essentially, the kids decided that they would sell "Mission Mali" wristbands at lunch instead of heading out for recess during a set two week period, and during the same two weeks, the classrooms would have a coin collection contest, with the top classroom winning a pizza party. </span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ng_EhFzpVsw/Tygl2BUJmkI/AAAAAAAADa4/-7mTDOcfE1g/s1600/eee50cfc724903587fca4986ebc3c0cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ng_EhFzpVsw/Tygl2BUJmkI/AAAAAAAADa4/-7mTDOcfE1g/s320/eee50cfc724903587fca4986ebc3c0cd.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We are two thirds of the way through the two-week period, and I have been so honored to be the chaperone during the wristband sales. I am amazed at the excitement and generosity of the kids at our school... most of who are under the age of 10. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Coin collection jars at the school have been bursting at the seams, and I took some home with me after the wristband sales yesterday to free up space in a few of the jars . I had some time when I got home, so I decided to count up what we had raised so far for Mission Mali. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aay385JWOwU/Tygl0Sy_SvI/AAAAAAAADaw/F4UkmVAvvMk/s1600/f1e4d719b66083638c7a270dc00cbe22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aay385JWOwU/Tygl0Sy_SvI/AAAAAAAADaw/F4UkmVAvvMk/s320/f1e4d719b66083638c7a270dc00cbe22.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Dudes, I don't know if you realize how big this is... but our little effort to help a bigger cause has already brought in over $550! That is amazing. And, (since it is the political season), that is with only <em>eleven of fourteen</em> classrooms reporting! (Get it? Precincts reporting?)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">You see, I only took three classrooms' coins with me yesterday... that added to wristband sales and wow! Super cool. I cannot wait to see what I count next week when the coin collection contest officially ends!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There is one child in the school that donated all of the money he had. <em>All $130 of it.</em> Why? Because he simply wanted to help build a school. <em>He is in the second grade</em>. There are <em>many kids</em> in our school just like that one who see something bigger than iPods and BeyBlades. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Matt and I have always tried to instill a sense of giving in our children, but Mission Mali has given us the opportunity to show Isaac and his friends that a cause doesn't have to originate with you for you to participate in it and for you to make a difference. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many of us in our community have now played an integral part in providing funding for a school for children who currently don't have one. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">That is all sorts of awesome. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">:: :: :: ::</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em>How do you encourage philanthropy in your child(ren)? </em></strong></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-5418444415429806132012-01-26T12:16:00.001-05:002012-01-26T12:16:18.111-05:00It may make you chuckle, but it should make you think.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take care of yourself. The other stuff can wait. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/t7wmPWTnDbE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Share with the women in your life. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-11195356447557213622012-01-10T14:24:00.000-05:002012-01-10T14:24:43.907-05:00Better than my discount<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The February 2012 Customer Special has <em>finally</em> been announced, and it is pretty awesome! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For every $31.00 a customer spends in February, she can get another item at 31% off! Yes, that IS more than a consultant's discount! You can use this special as many times as you would like - there is no limit!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The flier below shows a sneak peak of many of the new products and prints available in the *NEW* Spring Catalog. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Interesting in making a thirty-one purchase? If so, <strong><a href="http://www.mythirtyone.com/annewhite" target="_blank">click here</a></strong>. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Interested in being a thirty-one hostess to earn lots of free and discounted product? If so, <strong><a href="mailto:thewhitewords@gmail.com" target="_blank">email me</a></strong> and I can send you the new & updated hostess benefits!<br /><br />Finally, are you interested in the rewarding opportunity thirty-one has to offer? Yea? Then, <strong><a href="http://www.mythirtyone.com/content/join.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a></strong> or <strong><a href="mailto:thewhitewords@gmail.com" target="_blank">email me</a></strong> for more information!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rKpxrXhi-rE/TwyOjjiZHdI/AAAAAAAADYc/xwBfGuUj8WY/s1600/February+31+Special.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rKpxrXhi-rE/TwyOjjiZHdI/AAAAAAAADYc/xwBfGuUj8WY/s640/February+31+Special.jpg" width="497" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-25864468048776309292012-01-03T15:43:00.001-05:002012-01-03T15:43:25.067-05:00New Year's Purge<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.babble.com/mom/work-family/top-mom-bloggers/" target="_blank"><strong>The Top 100 Mom Blogs</strong></a> has been published by Babble! Actually, it was published eons ago in blog days, but today was my first chance to check out every single one of the Top 100. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are so many awesome reads that I now want to check out, so I did the purge. No, not the <a href="http://thewhitewords.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-purge.html" target="_blank"><strong>life purge</strong></a> from a couple years ago.... but of the Google Reader variety. Unless you are a personal friend, family, <a href="http://www.shaunaglenn.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Shauna Glenn</strong></a>, or <a href="http://www.theveryworstmissionary.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Jamie The Very Worst Missionary</strong></a>, you were removed from my reader. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don't blame you or your writing. It's all <em>me</em>. My A.D.D. has infiltrated most aspects of my life. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Plus... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I do not like long posts. 500-800 words. Tops. (No, I do not try to stick to this with my own blog. Duh. Who has time to count all of those words?) I want to know how the story is going to end about 500 words in. My husband can attest. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I do not like when the blogger uses "pet" or pen names for their family and friends. It is difficult to follow who The Preacher or The DH or "S" is. What if there are two esses? There are reasons to not give personal information. I get it. But I won't read it unless I know who you are speaking of.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am done following home design blogs. I will never be domestically creative. Never ever. And envy is<em> really</em> ugly. <br /><br />While I, myself, can shoot all words out like a sailor, I don't like <em>excessive</em> cursing or talking of one's vagina. However, I am pretty certain that<strong> </strong><a href="http://www.motherhooduncensored.net/motherhood_uncensored/" target="_blank"><strong>this blog</strong></a>, which is now in my reader, will be mentioning vaginas a time or two.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Because of the life stage I am in, I really find no interest in parenting blogs. I now just message all of my guidance counselor friends to solicit advice, since Potty Training 101 doesn't seem to apply anymore.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For 2012, I added twelve new blogs to start off my 2012. Stoked about that. Let's hope none of them exhibit any of the above features more than 1% of the time. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are a few that I am most excited about. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.flourishinprogress.com/" target="_blank">Flourish in Progress</a><br /><a href="http://www.punditmom.com/" target="_blank">PunditMom</a><br /><a href="http://www.thebeardediris.com/" target="_blank">The Bearded Iris</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://workitmom.com/bloggers/workingcloset" target="_blank">The Working Closet</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>: : : : : :</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><em>How do you choose the blogs you do (or do not) read? </em></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>: : : : : :</strong></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706926082000565983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462202026692801215.post-21899552477994735922011-12-20T14:09:00.001-05:002011-12-20T14:09:13.099-05:00Hidden messages.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ks6mTMWh8fY/TvDbIsVc8PI/AAAAAAAAAAU/C3ZBAnCl60Q/s1600/SC20111220-124909.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ks6mTMWh8fY/TvDbIsVc8PI/AAAAAAAAAAU/C3ZBAnCl60Q/s400/SC20111220-124909.png" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also thought that he may be making up for the fact that he was going to videotape me with his phone in the middle of the night. I was *allegedly* doing a huuuummmmmm + moan thing while I slept... which I apparently was doing when I <em>was not</em> coughing. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://linkworth.com</div>annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12688336183636973936noreply@blogger.com0